As temperatures drop across China and the country braces for colder weather in the next few weeks, a niche has developed for cozy warming products such as electrothermal blankets and heating scarves.

Traditional hot-water bags have become outdated, and brands are eyeing the "warming market" to launch innovative products such as foot warmers, hand warmers, heating scarves and heating seat cushions to satisfy the increasingly diverse demands of consumers.

Customers living in the southern part of the country, especially those in the Yangtze River Delta region, have indicated a stronger demand for heating products, as a lack of indoor central heating facilities makes homes relatively damp and cold, industry players said.

Currently, China is focused on promoting consumption alongside benefits to people's livelihoods, said Li Gang, director-general of the department of market operation and consumption promotion at the Ministry of Commerce.

"At the turn of the year, we focus on promoting sales of key product categories such as automobiles, home appliances and home furnishings, and we will hold various kinds of consumption promotion activities," Li said.

The Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded in December, has set nine key tasks for the government to focus on for 2025, and vigorously boosting consumption, improving investment efficiency, and expanding domestic demand in all aspects have been accorded top priority.

As the government continues to promote growth in consumption, the growing demand for warming products reflects the vitality of the consumption market.

The sales of Chengdu Rainbow Appliances (Group) Inc's electrothermal blankets online reached nearly 40,000 pieces daily during the period from Christmas to New Year, according to Alibaba's e-commerce platform Tmall.

The Chengdu, Sichuan province-based company, the world's largest manufacturer of electrothermal blankets in terms of manufacturing volume, said it had seen growth in sales of its electrothermal products every year in the past few years.

"Electrothermal blankets are relatively affordable and energy-saving, and most products carry price tags below 200 yuan ($27.4) per piece. Besides heating, the latest electrothermal blankets are equipped with functions such as dehumidification, mite removal and sleep monitoring," said Kang Beina, e-commerce director of Rainbow Group.

"The northern part of the country usually begins to cool down in October, and sales of heating products fared better in northern China before the supply of central heating in mid-November, while the sales period of heating products lasts longer in southern China," Kang said.

Founded in 1982, Rainbow Group has focused on the research and development of household electrothermal blankets. In recent years, it has also developed some innovative products such as heating scarves and heating vests, and sales of such products have surged on a yearly basis, it said.

Rainbow Group also exports its electrothermal products to Europe and mainly sells at local supermarkets chains and Chinese supermarkets, as well as through e-commerce platforms such as AliExpress, Amazon and PDD's Temu. In particular, sales have been rosy in France, the company said.

Meanwhile, water-heating blankets have been popular in the market. Carrying a price tag of 270 yuan to 280 yuan each, the working principle of water-heating blankets is similar to underfloor heating.

Renqiu Huanding Supply Chain Management Co Ltd, a manufacturer of water-heating blankets in Hebei province, said customers will not feel dehydrated when they put water-heating blankets on the bed.

"By the end of 2024, our sales volume grew by 20 percent over the previous year. Despite this winter being relatively warmer, we netted higher sales, as consumers have increasingly adopted our products," said Lyu Haiyang, general manager of Renqiu Huanding.

The company has also exported its products to markets such as Russia, the United States and some European nations through e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries.